Loki (19 page)

“
It is not Ragnarok,”
Mimir said slowly.
“But it is the beginning of the end.”

There was woe on Odin’s soul. He knew that this would come to pass, had known for an eternity, but its imminence weighed him down. Even more baneful than knowing that it would come, however, was the knowledge that he himself had set it into motion.

After what seemed like an interminable waiting period in the dark of the cell, Loki felt it was time to act. Idun had done nothing but sit on her knees with her head down the entire time. He had likewise been silent, and she had not acknowledged him. He knew that she was aware of his presence, but chose to remain silent and still, perhaps waiting to see what he would do. Or more likely, so devastated by the loss of her orchards that she was unable to do anything but wait for the end.

He approached her, feeling the chaos inside him shift and focus, begin to flow outward. He was beginning to master the shifting of his own form, but he had not yet tried it on others. He had little choice, and precious little time. It must be attempted, and he would have to simply hope that it would work as he planned.

Loki knelt down beside Idun. Invisible tendrils of chaos flowed from him. When they brushed against her, questing, she started.

“
Loki?” she said, as if waking from a deep sleep.

“
Yes.”

She looked over at him. He could barely make out her features in the blackness of the cell, but he could feel her gaze upon him. There was confusion there, but also anger and the agonizing stab of betrayal. He recognized the latter feeling well; he had felt it himself innumerable times. But Idun’s feelings were weak and faint. She would not be able to sustain her own life for long if she remained in Thrymheim.

“
I feel something strange. What are you doing to me?”

He closed his eyes and concentrated on sending the tendrils of chaos into her, pervading her person with his energy.

“
I do what I must.”

He could feel her resisting, but it was instinctual, reflexive. She did not know what she was fighting against, and so could not really withstand his assault. As he sent the strands deeper he found her essence, the shining beacon within her that summed up all she was. It was faint, which was good, because otherwise he might not be able to affect her. He surrounded that beacon with his own energy and willed her to transform.

The shifting came from inside her first. Her consciousness became slowly less coherent, less aware, as if her knowledge and intelligence were being drained. Unlike his own early transformations, where his consciousness shifted somewhat into the thing that he changed into, her own simply became fainter and fainter, more and more suited to the change he was forcing upon her.

As her awareness dwindled, he could feel her body diminish as well. Slowly she shrunk in upon herself, her arms and legs withdrawing into her body, her innards drying up inside her. Dull, golden tresses shortened and were pulled inside her head, which grew smaller and smaller, her skin growing from pale white to brown. Her entire body seemed to collapse upon itself till little was left of her but an oval-shaped seed no bigger than a child’s fist lying on the cold stone floor of the cell.

He opened his eyes and steadied himself. He felt much weaker, drained. It had taken more out of him to project his energy outward, to change something outside of himself. He stared down at the brown seed at his foot and wondered if he had been fully successful. Idun was transformed, certainly, but did some remnant of what she was remain, or was she gone completely? If so, then he had failed, and all would be lost.

He picked up the seed gingerly and held it, bringing it close to his face, examining it for some sign that the core of what Idun was remained in this small promise of potential life.

At first he could detect nothing, but after holding it close, feeling it up against his skin, he could detect stray thoughts borne on his own chaotic tendrils, energy seeping slowly from the nut and bearing feelings and impressions; things that a seed alone would never have, things that belonged only to a being with thoughts, ideas, feelings. Wafting from the seed was anger and confusion, love and hate, desire and hope. It was all the things he would have felt in the goddess herself if she were standing in front of him rather than lying transformed in his palm.

Loki stood up slowly, grasping the seed firmly in his hand. He turned and swiftly left the cell, making his way to a stone staircase and up through the bowels of the keep.

Thiazi was in his chambers or somewhere near there, which gave Loki enough space and time to find his way to the top of the keep. The giant had been keenly aware of Loki’s presence for months, ever since he had first reached Thrymheim. His shifting abilities must seem like a bright flame to the giant. But he had learned since then. While he could feel the giant’s thoughts poking around inside him like an unspoken command, he had never felt compelled to listen, although it served his purpose to let Thiazi think that he was his to command.

He wound his way through Thrymheim, and his path led him to a tall tower jutting up from the mountain keep. Once there, he looked out over the mountain range surrounding Jotunheim. The cities and villages of the giants spread out across the land as far as he could see.

Grasping Idun in his palm, he closed his eyes and concentrated, willing himself to shift. It was easier and faster than it had been before he had come to Thrymheim. He felt as if he were simply shedding a layer of clothes and putting on new ones. Thiazi had taught him well.

Transformed once more into a hawk, he clutched the seed in his talon. Once he returned her to Asgard, the seed that Idun had become would restore what had been lost. Far in the distance he could barely see a multicolored arch. He flew from the top of the tower towards Bifrost once more.

Idun's Return to Asgard

The gods were upset at the disappearance of Idun, and at the same time increasingly dismayed at their quickly graying heads. They held a council in Gladsheim to discuss what had happened to Idun.

Heimdall said that the last time he had seen Idun was when she had crossed Bifrost with Loki. It was then that the gods realized that the Sly One had spirited her away. It was decided that he would be captured and brought forth to tell what had become of her.

He tried to hide from the Aesir by turning into various animals, but the far seeing eye of Odin watched him closely, and the others were able to drag him back to Gladsheim.

Once there, Loki first expressed outrage at his shabby treatment and swore oaths against those who had so roughly taken him against his will. Odin, however, threatened him with the blood eagle if he did not tell what he had done with Idun. The Sly One became frightened as he imagined the knife carving lines in his back, his lungs springing out like bloody wings. He told the assembled gods that he was forced to bring Idun to the giant Thiazi.

All the Aesir were furious with Loki and wanted to kill him right then for his offense. Odin, however, stayed their hands and charged him instead to recover Idun from Thiazi, and Loki left quickly for Thrymheim, happy to be away from angry gods and the threat of the blood eagle.

He changed into a falcon and flew quickly to Thiazi’s home. He was relieved to discover that the giant was out rowing on the sea, and he would not have to contend with him before rescuing Idun. He turned her into a nut, grabbed hold of her in his talons, and then flew back to Asgard.

Thiazi arrived at Thrymheim soon after, furious at discovering Loki’s handiwork. He saw a falcon flying towards Asgard with his prize and recognized it as the Sly One. He changed himself into an eagle and pursued.

Sitting on his high seat, Odin could see the eagle chasing the falcon. The falcon would arrive at Asgard’s walls before the eagle, but only just. He ordered the Aesir to gather up all the plane shavings from all the woodwork that had been done since Asgard was young, and to pile them up against Asgard’s wall. They stood ready with torches in hand, waiting for Odin’s command.

Loki swiftly flew over the wall with the giant just behind. As the eagle crossed the wall’s threshold, Odin gave the order to fire the shavings. The Aesir used their torches to light all the plane shavings, and a great fire blazed up high into the sky, catching the eagle by surprise and setting his feathers on fire. The Aesir surrounded the eagle with their mighty spears and stabbed him to death while he lay flaming in the courtyard.

Loki released the nut that was Idun, and she formed back again into herself. She walked amongst the aged gods and fed them from her basket of apples. At once, they grew young again and thanked her for her gifts, and all was well again in Asgard . . .

Chapter Twelve

Thiazi realized the deception when Loki was at the summit of Thrymheim. He had thought him still in the bowels of the keep with Idun, and was confused. As he realized how he had been completely fooled, he cursed himself. The two-faced god had tricked him and was escaping with Idun.

He could scarcely comprehend it. He had trained Loki for months, each day subtly influencing him more and more with his own power until the god was his, even though he did not realize it. He had interweaved his own chaos with that of Loki's, gently nudging him in the direction he wanted, so that each time he spoke of one of the Aesir he planted ill will within him. He knew that he could not simply erase Loki's allegiance to the Aesir in a day, and so he had taken his time and done it slowly, all the while masking his true intentions by showing him how to wield his own chaos energy.

But now Thiazi was forced to the conclusion that Loki had never been in his will at all, and that meant that he had been utterly and completely deceived all the while. And now he was headed back to Asgard with Thiazi's prize.

His rage threatened to overwhelm him, and he let loose a roar of frustration that shook the foundations of the keep. He charged forth from the chamber, the transformation already begun as he mounted step after step, his massive bulk moving forward far faster than it would have seemed possible. He could feel Loki shifting, and his rage increased when he realized he would not be able to reach him in time.

The top of the tower was within sight as he rounded the final set of stairs, but he did not slow down. Instead, he propelled his bulk up the stairs and into the open air, changing into his eagle-form and taking to the air as he did. He glanced around for Loki but could not see him. His rapidly improving eyesight quickly caught sight of a large hawk flying from Thrymheim, a brown seed clutched tightly in its talon. He was headed to Asgard with Idun.

He flew after the two-faced god with anger and mounting ferocity. He had made a mistake, had under-estimated Loki and his burgeoning abilities. He was far more savvy than he had let on, far more than Thiazi had suspected. He would not be underestimated again.

The hawk flew swiftly, but Thiazi had used his eagle-form for centuries. He would catch Loki, and when he did, he would rend his body apart and watch the remains flutter to Midgard.

Odin’s retainers and the Aesir who could still stand manned Asgard’s walls with torches in hand. They were confused. Though they did not doubt the Allfather, they did not know why they were there. Odin saw looks of bewilderment on their faces as he looked out the window of his highest tower. He periodically glanced from the scene below to the open sky.

While he did not possess Heimdall’s ability to see for leagues, Odin had other ways of sensing. When he sat on his high seat he could view nearly anything in the Nine Worlds, although it was not the same as sight, exactly. It was as if the scene unfolded in his mind, like a memory, but happening right then. He saw Loki’s swift flight, Idun transformed and clutched tightly in one talon. His progress towards Asgard was rapid.

The eagle gained ground, however. He was an enormous bird, brimming with chaos, and he cut the distance between he and Loki with every driving beat of his massive wings.

Odin had taken Mimir’s head from its customary pedestal in his chamber and sat him on his knee.

“
How long till Thiazi overtakes him?” he asked the head.

“
. . . soon . . .”

“
What will happen when he catches him?”

“
. . . death . . .”

Odin grunted, mostly to himself. He was tired. The weight of Ragnarok was on him, as usual, but it was compounded by his infirm condition, as if the eons of his existence had suddenly caught up to him in one fell swoop. Mimir had said that this would be the beginning of the end. Odin did not see the point of telling him that he would not prevent Ragnarok even if he could.

He looked out his window, high above the plain of Asgard. Far in the distance, he could see a small speck rapidly approaching. Loki would arrive soon, and the giant would follow. The flames would be lit, and he would save all those who called him Allfather. Would they think of him so fondly if they knew that saving them now only cursed them with a worse death later?

As he looked at the other Aesir around him, Balder realized that he suffered from Idun’s absence far less than the others. While his body was wracked with palsied trembling and his strength was no more than a distant fraction of what it had been before, he was still far more able-bodied than Tyr and many of the others. He could stand on his own two feet, at least, and his mind was still sound, or as sound as it could be for his advanced age. The clarity of thought that normally marked him was faded, but most of his wits were still about him. Others barely recognized the sound of their own name, their minds lost in the same way as their bodies.